EU Fines Spanish Hotel Chain Over Antitrust Violation

The European Commission has fined Spanish hotel group Meliá €6.68 million (US$7.2 million) for including restrictive clauses in its agreements with tour operators. 

These clauses discriminate consumers within the European Economic Area (EEA) based on their place of residence, in breach of EU antitrust rules. At the same time, the Commission closed proceedings opened in 2017 against four tour operators.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said, “This time of the year, many people are booking their summer vacation and are looking for the best deals on offer. Meliá prevented tour operators from freely offering hotel accommodation everywhere in Europe. As a result, consumers had access to different offers and different prices based on their nationality. This is illegal under antitrust rules. Consumers should be able to make full use of the Single Market and to shop around for the best deal.”

In February 2017, the Commission opened an antitrust investigation into hotel accommodation agreements concluded by Meliá and tour operators, to assess whether they contained clauses that illegally discriminated between customers, based on their nationality or country of residence.

Full Content: CNMC

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